Experiencing virtual reality

MILAN TWP — EHOVE Career Center senior Maci Mayhorn made a monarch butterfly move before her eyes, but it didn't fly away.While wearing 3-D glasses, she pointed her stylus toward a large screen and moved it back and forth to make the butterfly increase and decrease in size. The butterfly popped out of the screen and became close enough for her to reach out and touch. "This is amazing," the cosmetology student said. "This is one of the best things ever. I wish I could use this everyday."About a dozen EHOVE students received a first look at zSpace, a virtual reality program bringing objects to life in 3-D form. With a large screen, the technology allows for a close-up view of topics in anatomy, engineering, and more.EHOVE is the third school in Ohio to own zSpace technology, joining schools in Lima and Cleveland. Career center officials began looking into the technology in September and have had the computers on its campus for a month.Each zSpace program costs around $3,000. "But the cost is worth it," said Dave Jenkins, director of operations.Studies have shown that using the zSpace technology will keep students' attention during the lesson and throughout the rest of the school day, leading to better productivity, according to Chelsea Moyer, the career center's technology integration specialist."This generation is used to using technology, but this 3-D experience is something they don't have. It's motivating and engaging them like never before," she said.The zSpace lab, located in the career center's new Science and Technology building, will be used for high school and adult education programs and group visits from local organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters.With cosmetology students on Thursday, Moyer explained the zSpace technology's functions through an interactive tutorial. Students learned how to use the stylus, which functions like a mouse. To use it, they held the stylus in front of them and used a circular button to click on objects.By holding the stylus in front of them and moving it toward themselves, students can enlarge the object's size, and vice versa.When using zSpace, students use "driver" glasses to create the 3-D effect. Onlookers use "passenger" glasses and are able to see the screen, but not in 3-D form.zSpace boasts many educational apps. At one point, students explored parts of the body, examining facial bones and muscles. When looking at the heart, its beats could be felt in their stylus.Throughout the zSpace tutorial, students made exclamations of amazement."This is so fun," senior Grace Hagelberger said while creating her own pizza. "I will never go outside again," another student joked.The zSpace apps allow students to take quizzes on several topics, take screenshots and save them for studying, and send designs to the career center's FabLab for 3-D printing.The school's zSpace lab also includes portable furniture for interactive projects.EHOVE officials also hope to purchase several Google Cardboard devices for a portable virtual reality experience. The device includes a compartment for a smartphone with a built-in lense compatible with the phone's virtual reality apps to create 3-D experience.With Google Cardboard, EHOVE officials hope to take students to foreign countries, among other uses.And since zSpace recently signed a contract to use more career preparation apps, officials hope to use them to better prepare students across all programs.With zSpace, EHOVE instructors like Paula Camella hope the technology makes lessons more enjoyable and memorable."We will be able to use zSpace for anatomy for state board preparation, chemistry, and design when they create their own cosmetology salon with a floor plan. Some of the tools on zSpace is in their curriculum for business," the cosmetology instructor said.The best part about zSpace: "It's project-based learning," Camella said.Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook www.facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodMalorie Malson, a senior cosmetology student, uses a virtual reality computer at EHOVE's new zSpace Lab on Thursday, March 23, 2017.EHOVE unveiled its new zSpace Lab to students on Thursday, March 23, 2017.Senior cosmetology student Sierra Palmer explores different activities with EHOVE's new zSpace technology on Thursday, March 23, 2017.